Impact of the Transition to Market Economy on Development Studies in Poland
by Mieczysław Szostak
The interest of Polish economists in crucial internal and external aspects of underdevelopment, poverty and development in the Third World began as late as the mid-1950s. The initial phase of development studies in our country covered the years 1955-1961. O. Lange, who was at that time an economist well known in international circles for his scientific reputation, played the leading role among the pioneers of these studies. Another eminent Polish economist, M. Kalecki, was also broadly interested in economic and financial problems of developing countries (DCs).
From boom to decline of the “Polish Development School”
The second phase of economic research into problems of DCs covered the period 1962-1968. That was a stage of extremely dynamic growth and strengthening of the international renown of Polish development thinking. It seems that – with no risk of being accused of national self-exaltation – one can stress that the original “Polish Development School” was born during that period.
The most important event was the creation (in 1962) of the Centre of Research on Underdeveloped Economies (CRUE). The works of M. Kalecki inspired its scientific activities. Although his research focused on the advanced capitalist economies and the theory of growth under the socialist system, he also contributed considerably to global development thinking. In the opinion of J. Robinson: “One of the most original and striking of Kalecki’s conceptions is the notion of “intermediate regimes” (“Introduction” to M. Kalecki “Essays on Developing Economies”, Hassocks 1976). Kalecki’s considerations on financing economic growth, the role of foreign assistance to DCs, the importance of state-owned enterprises and development planning, the possibilities of eliminating unemployment in the Third World were also widely discussed by the representatives of different economic research institutes.
In the 1960s the majority of Polish economists specialised in the development studies co-operation with the United Nations and other international organisations as well as with many foreign research institutes. This large international co-operation eased a prompt popularisation of achievements of the “Polish Development School” at global level.
The third phase of development studies in Poland covered the years 1968-1975. Following the so-called “March events” in 1968, for purely political reasons the Communist authorities decided to dissolve the CRUE. Several months later, M. Kalecki resigned his professorship and retired. Many researchers from the Centre moved to other Polish institutes and universities. Thus, the scientific potential gathered around M. Kalecki was reduced and dispersed, causing a considerable weakening of the international position of the Polish Development School. However, the development studies have been continuing by the Research Institute for Developing Countries (RIDC) which was founded in April 1968 at the WSE as a part of the reorganisation.
Weakening of Polish development studies during the transition to a market economy
During the fourth stage of development research in Poland, i.e. in the years 1976-1990, three succeeding national five-year research projects, sponsored and financed by the Polish government and co-ordinated by the RIDC, contributed considerably to the intensification of studies on the Third World in our country. At that time, the research concentrated on the five following topics: 1) theoretical dimensions and practical aspects of different concepts and strategies of the Third World deve1opment; 2) global and external conditions of DCs' development; 3) social, cultural, environmental and spatial issues and policies; 4) internal political conditions, ideologies and foreign policies of DCs; 5) economic, political and cultural re1ations between Poland and the Third World.
The radical systemic transition from centrally planned to free market economy initiated in our country in June 1989, caused a temporary weakening of Polish development studies and training, including the activities of RIDC at the Warsaw School of Economics.
Firstly, due to the suppression of the central planning and the reform of the national system of financing of basic scientific research in Poland, since 1991 the five-year government research programmes in the field of development economics ceased. This fact had very negative effects on the financial resources destined for Polish research into economic and social problems of less advanced countries.
Secondly, for financial and political reasons the new Polish authorities decided to drastically decrease the number of government scholarships offered to foreign students from Third World countries. As a consequence of this decision, the Advanced Course in National Economic Planning at the Warsaw School of Economics in particular ceased operations in 1992 (after 30 years of successful activities).
Thirdly, following the declining interest in development research and training in the country, in the 1990s many Polish economists who in the past specialised in development studies were obliged to change their research profiles, becoming specialists in transformation, liberalisation, globalisation, European economic integration, privatisation, banking and capital markets etc.
Fourthly, during the same period, a great number of lecturers and researchers left the economic universities (especially the Warsaw School of Economics), preferring to work for private enterprises (in particular, for consulting companies and transnational corporations acting in Poland), for new public administration and Polish diplomacy, as well as for international organisations.
Fifthly, many Polish economists who continued their development studies gave priority in their research to the comparative analysis of the experience of new industrialising countries in the context of the transition process in the Eastern Europe economies.
As far as the Research Institute for Developing Countries is concerned, in the first haft of 1990s it continued its activities on the following topics: the theoretical aspects of development economics, the comparative analysis of the role of state in developing, developed and post-socialist countries in the context of globalisation, development dilemmas and challenges in the less advanced and transition economies, the consequences of industrial redeployment and technological revolution for a changing position of developing and post-socialist countries in the world economy.
However, following the radically changing priorities in the research and trading activities during the transformation process in Poland, in July 1996 the RIDC changed its name into the Institute for International Studies (IIS). This change fully reflected the transition of its research works from the development studies to the analysis of systemic transformation in former centrally planned Central European economies and their integration with the European Union.
In the second half of 1990s and at the beginning of the present decade only some researchers from the IIS have been working on the DCs' problems. At the same time, one can observe the growing role of the Institute of International Economic Relations (acting as the part of the WSE) in the recent development research in Poland. In autumn 2003 it organised a national conference on the crucial aspects of the North-South relations. The Institute’s staff focused its development studies on the impact of globalisation on DCs, the role of foreign direct investment and transnational corporations in the Southern countries, methods and prospects for overcoming poverty, external indebtedness and financial crises, the importance of European development co-operation and economic partnership, as well as possibilities of regional South-South economic integration.
What about the future?
In the coming years, as it seems to me, the interest of development studies and trading in Poland - and in other Central European countries which became full members of the European Union - will increase for two reasons (at least). Firstly, all these countries are interested extending their commercial, financial, technological and scientific relations with developing countries. Secondly, as new members of the EU, Poland and seven other post-socialist European countries should immediately increase their official development assistance (ODA) and co-operation with the ACP countries, which will have positive impact on the perspectives of our development research and training.
Mr Mieczysław Szostak
Assistant Professor, Ph.D.
Institute of International Economic Relations
Warsaw School of Economics
Al Niepodległości 164
02-554 WARSZAWA (Poland)
Fax: 48 (22) 646 61 27
Tel.: 48 (22) 754 68 25
e-mail: maszostak@poczta.onet.pl
